Protective helmets for contact sports, such as those used in football, hockey and lacrosse, typically include a rigid outer shell, an internal pad assembly coupled to an interior surface of the shell, a face guard or face mask, and a chin protector or strap that removably secures the helmet on the wearer's head. The face guard covers a front opening of the helmet shell and protects the wearer's facial area. Conventional face guards are formed from a plurality of intersecting elongated bars that define apertures through which the wearer looks through while participating in the contact sport. The face guard is secured to the helmet by connectors and brackets that fasten to the outer surface of the helmet shell. In this manner, the face guard resides external to and outside of the helmet shell.
In the last decade, the overall size of conventional protective helmets, including the helmet shell, has increased in an effort to improve the helmet's performance and impact performance. As the helmet size increases, the frontal profile of these helmets has also increased. The frontal profile is further increased when the face guard is secured to the helmet shell. The resulting frontal profile of the helmet and the face guard connected thereto can be visually dominant and unappealing to wearers of the helmet, as well as potential wearers of the helmet.
Features and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.